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Michael Akins (New Earth)
| Universe = New Earth | BaseOfOperations = | Gender = Male | Height = | Weight = | Eyes = Brown | Hair = Black | UnusualFeatures = | Citizenship = American | MaritalStatus = Married | Occupation = Former police commissioner | Education = | Origin = | PlaceOfBirth = | Creators = Greg Rucka; Paul Pope | First = Batman: Turning Points #5 | Last = | Death = | HistoryText = Michael Akins was police commissioner in Gotham City. Before his move there, he worked in Gateway City, where he had a traumatic encounter with a costumed vigilante named Watchdog which left both said vigilante and a kidnap victim dead. Michael Akins was a trusted member of the Gotham City Police Department, appointed by James Gordon as Chief of Police after the city's period as a 'No Man's Land'. When Gordon was shot by a member of his own department and retired, Akins was appointed Commissioner in his place. He received a mixed reaction - some felt he was a strong leader while others felt that he was too much of a politician, playing games with city hall instead of concentrating on getting the important work of crimefighting done. When The Body attacked Gotham, Mayor Greeves asked Akins to use the Bat-Signal to summon Batman. After Batman eliminated The Body, he told Akins to check among his ranks for any impostor and asked Akins to leave the Bat-Signal on in order to send a message to their enemies. His relationship with Batman was always tense, as he respected the vigilante but resented the need for him, a feeling shared by many members of the police department. When the various gangs of the city engaged in a devastating gang war, Batman approached Akins and asked permission to control the entire police department, but Akins refused. Batman then took actions which led to the death of a large number of police officers, forcing Akins to declare that Batman wasn't on their side of the law anymore. The press started to demand some actions from Akins, who was desperate to get results and he sent the entire police department against Tarantula and her gang "Las Arañas". Batman talked to Akins and told him to call his men off, but Akins refused and decided that he wouldn't listen to the vigilante anymore. The Bat-Signal was removed from the roof of Gotham City Police Headquarters and all costumed vigilantes were declared illegal in the city. At some point during the 'missing year', when Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman had all retired from public duty, Akins left or was removed from office. The circumstances have never been revealed, but it is known that there were significant problems with corruption in the force at the time, and Akins may have been implicated in this. | Powers = | Abilities = * * | Strength = | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = | Trivia = | Marvel = | Wikipedia = | Links = | Recommended = * Batman: War Games }} Category:African American